The articles and methods of manufacture described herein are generally in the field of packaging devices for food storage and reheat.
Food items left over after a meal typically are packaged for temporary storage in a refrigerator or freezer for later reheating and consumption. Plastic containers, such as TUPPERWARE(trademark), can be used, but are not always of a suitable size and may not be suitable for placement into a conventional oven to reheat the food items. This is inconvenient and necessitates transferring the food to another, oven compatible container before the food can be reheated.
Plastic and foil wraps can be used for packaging the food items. Plastic wraps, however, also typically are not suitable for use in conventional ovens. Foil wraps can be used in conventional ovens; however, some food items cannot easily and conveniently be wrapped in foil wraps so as to completely seal and protect the food during storage, without using excessive amounts of the foil wrap. This problem is particular true when the food item is a slice of pizza, which often is in the shape of wide, somewhat flat triangle. With conventional foil wraps, it also can be inconvenient or difficult to selectively open the wrapped food to expose the top of the food item to heat in the oven while keeping the bottom portion of the food item covered, since foil wraps typically tear easily and along uncontrollable directions.
It would therefore be desirable to have a packaging container which protects food during storage; which can be used in a conventional oven; and which is convenient to use (both when inserting and removing the food item), inexpensive, and disposable. It would be particularly desirable to have such a packaging container to accommodate food items in the general shape of a slice of pizza.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a packaging container which protects food during storage, can be used in a conventional oven, is convenient to use, and disposable.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing such packaging containers in large quantities.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a convenient and cost effective means for the end user to store and dispense the packaging containers.
An article for packaging food is provided in which the article comprising a triangularly shaped top layer of a first flexible material having two sealing edges and one opening edge, and a triangularly shaped bottom layer of a second flexible material having two sealing edges and one opening edge, wherein the sealing edges of the top layer are secured to the sealing edges of the bottom layer, thereby forming a conical pouch between the top layer and the bottom layer. The pouch has an opening between the opening edges into which food items can be inserted and then the opening edges folded together to close the pouch. The top layer preferably includes perforations that facilitate tearing open the top layer during or following reheating of the food item.
The packaging article preferably is formed of two layers of a metal foil, such as aluminum foil, wherein the sealing edges are fused together. The packaging article preferably is in the shape of an isosceles or equilateral triangle. In a preferred embodiment, the height of this triangle is between about 10 inches and about 16 inches, more preferably about 14 inches, and the length of the base of the triangle is between about 8 inches and about 16 inches, more preferably about 12 inches.
In another aspect, a sheet including one or more rows of the packaging articles is provided. Each row comprises two or more of the articles integrally formed together, and provided such that each article is removably connected to another article, preferably by having perforations or scoring between the articles. The sheet can be provided to the user in the form of a cylindrical roll, from which the user can tear off an individual packaging article as needed. Alternatively, the packaging articles can be separated and stacked individually, or sheets (or rows) of the packaging articles can be folded back and forth, and then either the stacks or folded sheets packed flat, for example, in a carton.
A efficient method of manufacturing the packaging article is provided. In the method, a top sheet of a first flexible material, wherein the top sheet has an outer surface and an inner surface, and a bottom sheet of a second flexible material, wherein the bottom sheet has an outer surface and an inner surface, are provided. Then, the inner surface of the top sheet is positioned adjacent to or in contact with the inner surface of the bottom sheet, and select areas of the inner surfaces are secured (e.g., fused or adhered) together, thereby defining sealing edges of one or more triangularly shaped pouches between the top layer and the bottom layer. The method can further include forming perforations or scores in the top sheet, and when the sheets include two or more of the triangularly shaped pouches, the method can further include forming perforations or scores in both the top sheet and the bottom sheet at the sealing edges between the pouches, to facilitate separation of the pouches from one another.
Food items, such as slices of pizza, can be placed into the pouch opening of packaging article, and then the opening edge of the top layer and the bottom layer can be pinched together and folded to close the opening of the pouch. The article and food can then be stored, such as in a refrigerator or freezer. Then when it is desired to eat the food item, the package can be opened, preferably by tearing the top layer along the opening perforations. The food item can be (re)heated, such as in a conventional oven, while sealed in the packaging article or after the top layer has been opened such that the food item rests on the bottom layer of the packaging article.